SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 29, 2010

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.

From Search Engine Land:

• Google No Longer Redirecting Google China To Google Hong Kong

  Google announced they are no longer allowed under Chinese law to redirect Google.cn to Google.com.hk. The Chinese government told Google that they won’t renew their license to operate in China if they continue to do the redirect. Google’s solution? Create a landing page on Google.cn, which appears to be a search box, […]
• Why Logic Rules As A Link Builders Greatest Asset

  For every so-called “rule” about link building, there are exceptions. You might find consensus on a rule or two, like – site wide footers bad, follow links good! – but your greatest enemy as a link builder is ignoring your gut. I think logic might just start in the gut and is then confirmed in […]

• How To Prep Content For Social Media

  Internet users are already notorious for fast browsing and scanning content by nature. It’s been long known that most people scan content and don’t actually read it word-for-word like a book.
  This behavior greatly intensifies when Internet users are browsing through content on social media sites. A user going down the front page of a social […]

• Will “Google Me” Be A Worthy Facebook Challenger Or Will It Be DOA?

  Let’s take “Google Me” seriously as a social networking site, successor to Orkut and overall Facebook challenger. As everyone by now knows Digg’s Kevin Rose started a wave of coverage when he asserted over the weekend, in a Twitter post now removed, that Google was working on a Facebook competitor.
  Yesterday I asked Google for a […]

• Google AdWords Adds Goals & Seller Ratings Extensions

  The Google AdWords Blog announced two additions to the program. The first is the ability to set goals in the opportunities tab within the AdWords console and the second is a new seller ratings extension available for some advertisers.
  Goals in Opportunity Tab:
  Google is rolling out a new feature in the Opportunities tab within AdWords […]

• Mapquest Introduces New Look, New Capabilities

  You might not have thought of it this way but the old MapQuest was mostly about driving directions. The new Mapquest (launching today) is about local search and an expanded range of capabilities and use cases.
  There’s a new look and feel, a new back end, a single search box and a new “brand.” Mapquest is […]

• How To Tackle Refining The Core SEO-Localization Process

  Website translation processes can often conflict with SEO objectives. How can these two opposites be reconciled? With such huge sums invested in localization — it makes sense to get the maximum return on investment — but you need to review the process. Here’s how!

Search News From Around The Web:

Applications & Portal Features

• New Search Operators in your Documents List, Official Google Docs Blog

Business Issues

• China’s Baidu Could Increase US Staff by 400%!!!, Marketing Pilgrim
• Google near closing $3 bln credit facility-RLPC, Reuters

Local, Maps & Mobile

• Big Birthday.. Google Maps API Turns 5!, Google Geo Developers Blog
• New Android 2.2 Software Update for Nexus One phones, Nexus One | News and Updates

Link Building

• A Comprehensive Guide to Link Building via Blog Commenting, Search Engine Journal
• Link Building Opportunities Big Brands Miss, Search Engine Journal
• Should I use the nofollow attribute on internal links?, YouTube

Searching

• 3D Viewing Option Available Again on Google Books, Inside Google Books
• Disease and Patient-Level Statistics with Wolfram|Alpha, Wolfram|Alpha Blog
• Google Doodle For Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s 110th Birthday, Search Engine Roundtable

SEO & SEM

• Google Webmaster Tools Reporting Inflated Link Counts, Search Engine Roundtable
• On Page SEO VS. Off Page SEO: Which Trumps?, Search Engine Roundtable
• Second June 2010 Google PageRank Update, Search Engine Roundtable

Social Media

• Twitter Slashes API Rate Limits In Half Across The Board To Deal With Capacity Issues, TechCrunch

Video, Music & Image Search

• Flash and the HTML5 <video> tag, YouTube Blog

Recent Hot Items From Sphinn, Our Social News Sharing Site:

• Visualize More Links and Traffic — Ranking the Best SEO Infographics